Thursday, 23 June 2011

Have you ever left the country? If like me, you don’t have the monetary funds to leave the United States, don’t be too upset. Though it would be nice to physically leave the country, it isn’t an option to some. I’ve found that there are ways to explore other worlds right here in my own city.

The best exhibit they have now is the Take Me There Egypt! It’s so cool, especially in a little kid’s eye. When you first walk in you enter a gigantic airplane that simulates a plane ride leaving the country through the use of visuals and other sensory details. In the period that I was fortunate to work with the Children’s Museum as an exhibit design intern I learned about all the creative work that goes into the implementation of an exhibit like the one mentioned above.

Every 5 years the museum plans to switch out this section of its massive floor plan. They want to be able to take the kiddos of Indianapolis to all the many countries they may or may not be able to see for themselves in person. The exhibit designers and researchers devoted months to figuring out all they can about the culture they are trying to communicate and display to their audiences. Some of the designers even get to venture all they way across the world to the destination they are depicting. They emerge themselves in the culture, they experience the people in their natural environments, and they collect keepsakes that best communicate the society’s way of life.

I think it’s so cool that they bring back not only notes, but also physical artifacts from different countries with the idea of recreating environments for children to actively dive into. The exhibit designers set up spaces that mimic places like the homes, hangouts, and schools for the children of (in this case) Egypt. This allows the children of Indianapolis to see what life is like on the other side of the world. It also shows them that though they don’t live close to Egyptian children, they do still have a lot in common with them. It’s not only fun, but also very educational and experiential.

Even if you’re not a kid, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is an amazingly fun time! I would suggest that anyone in search of an adventure should definitely look into visiting the world’s largest children’s museum. It would be fun to tell your friends and family that you got to visit Egypt without having to pay thousands of dollars on travel costs, don’t you think?